WTI Crude Trims First Weekly Loss in Two Months on Jobs Surprise

March 7 (Bloomberg) -- West Texas Intermediate rose for a second day, trimming its first weekly loss in almost two months, after stronger-than-forecast jobs data boosted the economic outlook in the U.S., the world’s biggest oil user.

Prices advanced as much as 0.4 percent in New York, paring the decline since Feb. 28 to 0.8 percent. Jobless claims declined to the least since November, the Labor Department said yesterday, fewer than any economist forecast in a Bloomberg survey. Brent increased as President Barack Obama said the U.S. and its allies will keep raising pressure on Russia to back down in Ukraine.

WTI for April delivery added as much as 41 cents to $101.97 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $101.80 at 8:04 a.m. in Singapore. Prices increased 0.1 percent yesterday. The volume of all futures traded was about 77 percent below the 100-day average.

Brent for April settlement climbed 34 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $108.10 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange yesterday. The European benchmark crude ended at a premium of $6.54 to WTI.